10 Tips for a Safe and Fun Halloween

Between dressing up and indulging in favorite candies, Halloween is fun for all ages. Add a few simple precautions and you can make it safe as well. By using clever costuming "tricks" to make kids more visible to motorists — and monitoring their candy intake (especially if they have allergies) — parents can ensure a happy and healthy Halloween.

Make Halloween Safety a Priority

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, pedestrian injuries are the most common injuries to children on Halloween. Strategically decorating Halloween costumes and goody bags with reflective tape — and making sure your children carry flashlights with new batteries — can help make kids more visible in the dark, especially to oncoming traffic.

To safeguard trick-or-treaters coming to your house, prepare a clear path to your front door: Remove stray toys, leaves, and twigs, and place lit jack-o'-lanterns off to the side. Turn on as many outside lights as possible, and keep pets inside to protect them as well as your visitors.

Monitor Young Kids at All Times

Young children should always be accompanied by an adult. Keep them by your sides at all times. Halloween is a great occasion to teach your kids about street safety: crossing at the light within marked crosswalks and never darting out into the street.

For preteens seeking independence, agree to stand at a distance but be sure you can still see them. Kids should go only to well-lit and welcoming houses. Standing on the porch is okay; going inside is not.

Keep Teens on Track

Before letting teenagers go trick-or-treating alone, be sure to talk to them about street safety. In addition to being visible to traffic (encourage them to get creative with reflective tape), remind them to stick to a predetermined route, stay on the sidewalk and in well-lit areas, walk facing traffic, and avoid hidden dangers by not cutting through backyards. "There's safety in numbers" still holds true, so make sure they trick-or-treat in a group.

If you're driving them to another neighborhood, agree on a pick-up location and time. Be sure everyone's cell phone is charged and turned on for easy communication. Since kids love texting, ask them to send you their location on the hour.

Safety-proof Halloween Costumes

Keep a few safety precautions in mind when selecting your children's Halloween costumes.

Choose light-colored costumes and accessories, which are easier for motorists to see.

Look for "flame resistant" on labels.

Buy close-to-the-body costumes or make alterations to prevent tripping.

Pick props, like wands and swords, made of a pliable material like foam.

Get creative with face-painting rather than a mask, which can limit peripheral vision. (Check for allergic reactions by testing on a small area first.)

Make sure your children are wearing comfortable, sturdy shoes.

Create Kids' Costumes on a Budget

For Halloween costume cost-cutting, add accessories to clothes already in your kids' closets. Here are some ideas for creating popular costumes:

Plan a "Trick-or-Treat Street" Event

Halloween can be overwhelming for younger children, so consider a scaled-back alternative. Set up a "Trick-or-Treat Street" event in which neighbors decorate their front entry with different themes (think "caped crusaders" or "cartoon favorites"). Groups of supervised kids can visit each home, and you can even create a treasure map with the participating house numbers. During the planning stage, parents can decide on candy and/or noncandy treats to hand out. With a finite amount of both time and sweets, kids won't be left wired and tired.

Hold a Halloween Party at School

Help teachers emphasize fun over food, especially if classmates' allergies limit candy choices. Volunteer to bring in pumpkins that kids can paint individually. Little ones can decorate jack-o'-lanterns, but only adults should do the carving. For candle safety, use votives that come in their own tins; keep lit pumpkins on sturdy, level surfaces; and blow out the candles before leaving the room.

"Trick-or-Treat Street" is a great elementary-school alternative, with themed decorations and a supervised basket of treats at each door along a hallway; suggest this to your PTA as a possible fund-raising event by charging a small admission fee per child.

Take Control of Halloween Candy

Before trick-or-treating, feed your kids a nutritious snack or meal. This will keep tummies satisfied and may help prevent overindulgence. And set some ground rules, like no eating candy until you've inspected it.

Once home, check every item, keeping only wrapped commercial goodies with no signs of tampering. (Throw out all homemade Halloween treats, like cupcakes or brownies, unless you know the chef.) To cap the amount of sugar eaten, have kids pick out their favorite treat and set a limit of one per day for a limited amount of days. When buying candy to give out, remember that peanuts, tree nuts, milk, and eggs are very common allergens — and ingredients to avoid.

Stay on Allergy Alert

Halloween presents challenges to parents already vigilant about hidden allergens. But a child's food allergies don't have to put a damper on the day. If possible, provide neighbors with safe treats to give your child. Be sure to carry allergy medication when you take your child trick-or-treating, just in case.

Double-check labels even if you think the candy is safe — mini sizes may have different ingredients from the standard. If the packaging doesn't include nutritional information, try finding it on the manufacturer's Web site. When in doubt, toss it out. (In case most of the collected goodies are no good, have some backup treats at home.)

Put Halloween Candy on a Diet

The safest Halloween celebration may be the one you hold in your home. Take the emphasis off treats with Halloween-inspired activities. Have a spooky arts-and-crafts hour: Kids make colorful decorations with orange and black construction paper. Next, hold a contest for "funniest," "scariest," and "most colorful" costumes and hand out party-favor-sized prizes like stickers, glow bracelets, and windup chattering teeth.

For a healthier twist on Halloween treats, try fruit and fondue. Melt dark chocolate and let cool to room temperature. Kids can dip their own chunks of apricots, oranges, plums, and bananas, four of the most nutritious fruits.

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